Choosing The Correct Skip Hire Firm

Hiring the correct skip hire firm can help construction companies expand their bottom line, but price should not be the only consideration.

What are you searching for from a skip hire firm? The obvious answer for many construction managers will be cheap pricing - but a focus on value, rather than simply how much you pay to hire a skip, will in the long run produce an improved result for your project's bottom line.

Undoubtedly, there are some basic principles your skip hire firm should meet. You’ll need a provider that operates in your area. You should also check firms are compliant with construction-related waste management legislation – that they have the proper waste carriage licences and environmental permits, for example.

Site Waste Management Strategy - The Greater Picture

The greater picture though, is how skip hire organisations can help you implement your site waste management plan. Successfully applied waste management policies will ensure you manage waste more efficiently, boost re-use and recycling, limit your exposure to potential regulatory sanctions, and diminish the time you have to spend overseeing waste management. The combined worth of these benefits are likely to significantly outweigh the upfront saving that a cheaper skip hire firm might appear to offer. By improving your margins in several areas, the correct skip hire firm can deliver real value.

The work begins at the preparation stage of the project. You need a skip hire firm that is prepared to meet with you before work starts in order to offer advice on the optimum waste management options for the project. If you have a Site Waste Management Plan in place, the firm should be able to offer insight on how it will deliver the plan’s goals. Even if you don’t have an SWMP in place, a good skip hire firm should evaluate the space available for waste management to identify the best and most efficient locations for its skips.

The Cost Efficiencies of Good Waste Management

Such firms are also a vital partner as you seek to segregate waste. Without good segregation your projects will produce more landfill than is really necessary, adding to your disposal bills, and creating less recyclable and reusable material, which could have been used to diminish expenses elsewhere.

The worst-case scenario is that your bargain basement skip hire firm isn’t adequately knowledgeable about the latest waste legislation – or doesn’t care. Since your firm is ultimately accountable for the waste its projects create, that could end in penalties running into millions of pounds. Dependable skip hire firms will understand the developing regulatory responsibilities of the construction sector and provide you with comprehensive feedback on how they are discharging them on your behalf.

Also look for a skip hire firm that can reduce the burden of your performance monitoring work. An important part of your site waste management strategy should be to monitor outcomes, with clear metrics in place around landfill, recycling and reuse, as an example. This is important for delivering waste management savings, but also so that you have an evident track record for future contract bids. However, the data for this monitoring work needs to come in the form of usable and trustworthy feedback from your contractors.

Plasterboard is another waste stream that you cannot afford to cut corners on. Ideally you would require a company that can handle all your potential waste streams, having multiple firms on the one site can cause unnecessary headaches, as well as extra costs.

Skip hire firms that can demonstrate all of these attributes will play an important role in keeping your construction projects on time and within budget, minimising the time and money consumed by waste management.

If not, are you seeing any warning signs that might suggest your current skip hire firm is not correct for you? Do waste costs keep rising, have you been hit with unexpected penalties or taxes, are you struggling to plan for waste management effectively because you’re not receiving professional guidance, or are your attempts to stay on top of performance monitoring dogged by poor data?

If any of these signs are flashing red, it may be time to review your skip hire arrangements and contact MacNabb Waste Management. Look for a provider that competes on value rather than price.

Takeaways:

• The correct skip hire firm may not be the one that offers the cheapest quote.
• Concentrate on value rather than price in order to identify the skip hire firm likely to be of most help to your bottom line.
• Ideally one company that can handle all your various waste streams.
• Skip hire firms that enhance waste management efficiency, reduce compliance risk and help you compete for future work will deliver improved margins.